Constant
by housexbonesobsession
Summary: Booth will always be a constant in Brennan's life. I hate summaries. Post-aliens one-shot.


**A/N: Another one-shot. A little longer than my other one. This fic takes place post-Aliens in a Spaceship… a few days after the incident. & it explains the note Brennan wrote in the car! I know the concept of this story is a fairly old one and many people have written this type of story, but Aliens is one of my favorite episodes, and I wanted to do my own take on what happened. So, I hope you like it! Oh, and the characters belong to FOX and the creators of Bones… **

He handed her a piece of paper ripped from her book. "Anyone you want to say goodbye to?" he murmured.

Brennan looked at him skeptically for a moment, but grabbed the paper. She wrote her goodbyes, not sure if anyone would find them. At this point in time, their only hope was the explosives in the air bags, but they were more likely to harm them than help them. Sure, she was a genius, but she used up all of her ideas. This was the last one. She didn't want to believe that the Gravedigger could defeat her . She was stronger than that. She folded the piece of paper in half and slid in inside her jacket. "We should probably get as far away from the explosion as possible," Brennan said. Holding out his hand, Hodgins replied, "I already am. Care to join me?" Brennan grasped his hand, and climbed into the back seat. They shared one last hug. With shaking hands, they touched the two wires together, not sure of what would happen next.

She felt someone there. Someone pulling her limp body from the Earth. It was Booth. She knew it.

**********

"You should go home," Booth told her.

"Why?" Brennan asked.

"Just two days ago you were buried underground, slowly running out of air. You need to take a break."

"I need to find this guy," Brennan began. "I can't let him do this to anyone else."

"Temperance, we will find him. I promise you. Just trust me though. You need to take a break. Let me take you home.. Please."

Sighing, Brennan replied, "Fine, Booth."

"Thank you," he said, reaching out his hand to help her up from her chair.

"I'm not _that_ weak," she said to him, laughing.

"I'm just looking out for you, Bones."

He handed Brennan her bag that had been resting on the floor next to her desk.

"Thanks," she said.

He rested his hand on the small of her back, and led her out of the lab.

"Oh, Booth, wait!" Brennan started. "I forgot my jacket in my office."

"Alright, I'll get it for you," he said.

"I am perfectly capable of walk--"

"Bones. I got it," Booth said. "Wait right here."

He walked into her office, and turned on the light. Her jacket was on the chair. When he picked it up, something fell out. His first instinct was to slide it right back into her jacket, but there was something strange about it. It was a page, folded up tiny, ripped from her book, and he could see through all the folds in the paper that she had written on it. He began to open it when he heard her voice.

"Booth! What's taking so long?"

Quickly, he shoved the paper into his back pocket, and walked out the door.

"Coming!" he shouted.

They drove back to Brennan's apartment, mostly in silence. Neither of them had much to say. They pulled up to her apartment building, and Brennan turned to Booth.

"Thanks Booth. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you crazy, Bones?" Booth said, taking the keys out of the ignition. "I'm coming with you."

"No, really, it's fine Booth, you don't have to," Brennan said, but he was already out of the car.

They approached her door, and she let them in.

"Want me to make some tea or something?" Brennan asked. "Are you hungry?"

"How about you get out of those clothes and into something more comfortable while I make _you_ some tea?" Booth asked.

Brennan smiled. She didn't want to fight him anymore. She had to admit, it was nice having someone caring about her all the time. She wasn't used to it.

"Okay," she replied.

She put on comfy plaid pajama pants and a tight tank top. She washed the make-up off her face, and slid her hair back into a ponytail. When she walked out of the bathroom, Booth was on his way over to the sofa with two cups of tea in his hand and a big smile on his face.

"Here ya go, Bones," he said.

She grabbed the cup of tea. "Thank you, Booth," she said smiling.

"You don't have to stay, you know," she told him.

"I know," he said. "But I want to."

They sat down on the sofa together, and his wrapped his arm around her. She looked at him and smiled. Their eyes met and he returned the smile. Just then, he remembered the page of her book in his back pocket.

"I'm just gonna run to the bathroom real quick. You okay?" Booth said.

"Of course I'm okay Booth," Brennan said smiling.

Booth shut the bathroom door behind him, and once inside pulled the paper out of his pocket. Slowly, he unfolded it. The first word he saw shocked him.

_Booth,_

He wondered what this was, but as he read further, he realized, and he sunk to the floor.

_I'm writing this note because Hodgins and I are buried underground. Our air supply is slowly diminishing and I don't know if we're going to survive. Hodgins asked me if there was anyone I wanted to say goodbye to, and you, of course, were the logical answer. But for this note, I am going to try to put all logic aside. I'm going to speak from my heart, something you and Angela always told me I should try. I don't really know how to do that, or what to say at all. But I want you to know what you meant to me. I want you to keep this note and never forget me. I want you to move on and never blame yourself for what happened to me. And most importantly, I want you to catch the gravedigger. Let that be your redemption. Just find him. _

_I remember when I first started working with you. I remember constantly telling you not to call me Bones. I remember the constant bickering between us. I'm glad it worked out. I'm glad you were my partner. I'm glad you were my friend. I'm grateful for everything you did for me. Not many people could deal with me. You saw through that. Most people I cared about were not constants in my life. You were, and for that I am most thankful. _

_All my life, I was stubborn. I didn't believe in anything incalculable. Being stuck in this…hole has changed me. Although faith has always been somewhat of a foreign concept to me, I have faith you will move on. Be the great dad that you are, find someone you love, and continue doing your job as well as you do. You are very special to me and you have changed my life. _

_Love, _

_Temperance_

"_Bones" _

Booth saw a tear slip down his cheek and onto the page of her book. He couldn't imagine what he would have done if he had been reading this note in a different situation. He folded it up again, composed himself and went back outside to be with her.

"Booth?" she said.

"Yeah, Bones?"

"Thank you," she said, standing up.

"For what?" he asked.

"Everything," she said. "Thank you for everything."

Booth smiled, but still couldn't shake the words of the note from his mind. Before he could say anything to her, she embraced him in a hug, burying her head in his chest. He put one hand around her waist, and the other on the back of her head.

"Anything for you Bones," he said.

She cried a silent tear, and he felt it through his shirt.

Daringly he said, "Bones, I'll always be a constant in your life."

"Thank you," she said again.

He continued. "You're very special to me."

"So are you, Booth."

"You've changed my life," he said.

"Mine t--" Brennan began, but she paused, suddenly recognizing his words.

Pulling away from him, she said, "You-? How?"

Booth took the note out of his back pocket and handed it to her. "It fell out of your jacket pocket."

"You weren't supposed to read that," she said, her insecurity coming through.

"Listen to me," he said, lifting her chin up with his finger. "It's okay. I care about you, Temperance. More than you know. I never want to lose you."

She looked at him, tears building up in her eyes. Choked up, she said, "I never want to lose you either."

He pulled her towards him in an attempt to comfort her. They both stood there in each other's embrace, not saying a word, but in each other's arms, they suddenly felt like everything would be okay.

**A/N: This might be my favorite thing I've ever written. I'm not sure though. Reviews are greatly appreciated. I hope you liked it. :D**


End file.
